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Our hamster may be sick! (swollen belly)?

We've had our family hamster for about a year and a half now and last night we noticed his abdomen very swollen. He is kept in my step-son's room so I don't see him every day but I know this came on very rapidly. He is very swollen evenly on both of his sides. It's actually more like his hip area about the size of golf balls on each side. He can't even fit on his wheel anymore nor can he climb. He is eating but just can't get around that good. If you look at him from a distance you can see under his fur there is even a purplish hue to his skin underneath. Does anyone have any experience in this? I don't know what to do for him.

I had a 4 year old guinea pig who went through this. It ended up being a tumor and when I could tell she was suffering I actually spent almost $100 to have her put to sleep. Good luck, I know it wont be easy on the kids. Sometimes if you have a little funeral for it and talk about all the good times they had with their pet it helps a little.